Kansas: Court Issues Map, Redistricting Over

The nation’s decennial redistricting process finished late Thursday night when a federal court in Kansas released the state’s new Congressional map.

Despite the political drama leading up to the court’s decision, the new Kansas map doesn’t make any sweeping changes to the state’s Congressional lines.

According to a source who examined the lengthy order, here are the changes to the state’s four House districts:

In the 1st district, freshman Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R) picked up Riley, Geary and Pottawatomie coutnies. The 1st district needed to add about 60,000 in the redraw. It remains a solidly GOP seat.

In the 2nd district, Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R) picked up Montgomery County and all of Douglas County, including Lawrence and the University of Kansas. That means this district became slightly less Republican and could be competitive.

In the 3rd district, freshman Rep. Kevin Yoder (R) now has all of Johnson County, Wyandotte County and a small piece of Miami County. As a result, the Republican performance in his district improved slightly. Yoder’s district needed to shed about 60,000 people in the redraw.

In the 4th district, freshman Rep. Mike Pompeo (R) dropped Montgomery County and picked up several rural counties on the west side of his Wichita-based district. His seat is now even more friendly to Republicans.

Kansas had been the only state without a new Congressional map. For months, Republicans squabbled in the state Legislature over a new map in what should have been a simple process. The GOP controls the governor’s mansion, both state legislative chambers and the entire Congressional delegation in this geographically rectangular state.

In late May, for the first time in state history, a federal court took up the mapmaking process.